It is known to transfer heat to the interior of a body by inserting into the body a pin or spike that conducts heat. The pin absorbs heat from the exterior of the body and transfers the heat to the interior thereof. In this manner, the interior of the body, such as a piece of meat, is cooked.
For example, skewers or thermal pins for insertion into large pieces of meat, such as a roast or turkey, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,404,166; cooling potatoes or the like are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,379,118 and 2,766,682. These devices are ill-suited for cooking slabs of meat, such as a asteak, for readily apparent reasons.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,217,817 and 4,170,933 disclose devices for cooking slabs of meat on a grill in a reduced time. These devices include a plate that is positioned over the slab of meat with a plurality of spikes extending downwardly from the plate into the slab of meat. The plate and the spikes must be preheated before they are placed on the meat, and once placed on the meat, the spikes transmit heat from the plate through the flat side of the slab of meat into the interior thereof.
Such cooking devices are not well-suited for cooking steaks because the devices will form a multitude of holes or perforations in the flat side of the steak that are plainly viewable by a diner eating the steak and are generally unappetizing. The perforated appearance of a steak cooked with such a device also may be associated with fast food restaurants or cheaper meats which some diners may find undesirable. The need to preheat the plate and the spikes extending therefrom in these types of devices is also undesirable because it is usually necessary to utilize a portion of the grill to heat the device. In a restaurant where many steaks are being prepared, the plate and spikes will take up space on the grill that would otherwise be available for cooking a steak and, thus, would limit the maximum steak-cooking efficiency of the grill.
Thus, a need has arisen for a steak-cooking apparatus that does not give the steak a perforated appearance on the exposed flat side, that does not require preheating and that utilizes a minimum of grill space when in use.